Machine for operating on heels



Jam. 26, 1937. c s 2,068,719

MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON HEELS Filed May 15, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l PE in Wvavraa QM Mm Jan. 26, 1937.; F. RICKS v MACHI NE FOR OPERATING ON HEELS Filed May 15, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 26, 1937 stares PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR OPERATING N HEELS Application May 15, 1934, Serial No. 725,768 In Great Britain June 20, 1933 15 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for operating on parts of boots and shoes, for example heels and heel lifts, and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for performing a concaving operation on the breast surface of an unattached heel in order to form therein an ornamental scallop extending heightwise of the heel and having its region of greatest width and depth at the tread face of the heel, the depth of such scallop decreasing uniformly upwardly of the heel to an intermediate point heightwise of the heel where the scallop tails away completely at a location substantially on the median line of the breast surface.

It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment in a machine for operating upon unattached heels, the invention in certain of its aspects being also applicable to machines for operating upon attached heels.

Heretofore concaving operations such as that above described have been performed on the lower portion of the breast surface of heels, for example by machines such as that illustrated in United States Letters Patent No. 1,030,567 granted June 25, 1912 on an application of John N. Busell. The machine illustrated in that patent is provided with a heel tread plate against which the operator holds the heel of a shoe, positioning the heel between two gage members as he presents the heel manually to the cutter for the concaving operation. Such machines are designed to operate on attached heels and are not well adapted for forming a concavity in the breast surface of an unattached heel because of the difiiculty involved in manually holding an unattached heel in proper position on a heel tread plate for presentation to a cutter. This difficulty is particularly pronounced when it is desired to form a rather deep concavity extending heightwise of the breast surface a number of lifts above the top lift. Moreover, the cutters usually employed in machines such as that illustrated. in the patent above referred to have been designed particularly for concaving the top lift only of a heel and have not been adapted to form a concavity extending several lifts above the top lift.

Objects of the present invention are to provide an improved machine for operating on parts or boots and shoes having a cutter adapted to form a concavity in the breast surface of a heel extending from the tread face of the heel several lifts above the top lift, and work gaging, supporting and positioning means whereby the operator is relieved of the necessity of manually holding the heel in position during the cutting operation.

Features of the invention relate to the provision, in a machine for operating on heels, of a cutter, a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, a. handle on the work support, a clamp for holding the work on the work support, a clamp actuating lever so arranged relatively to the handle of the work support that the handle and the lever may be gripped simultaneously in one hand and the work may be clamped by closing the hand on the lever and handle and released by relaxing the grip of the hand on the lever and handle. As illustrated, the clamp actuating lever is pivoted to the handle of the work support in order to permit the operator, by maintaining his grip on the handle and the lever, to hold the work clamped while he swings the handle in order to present the supported heel to the cutter. In order to permit an angular adjustment of a supported heel relatively to the axis of the cutter there is provided in the illustrated machine work positioning means, including a heel plate hinged to the work support and arranged for angular adjustment relatively to the axis of the cutter, an adjustable heel-plate stop carried by the work support, and means for yieldingly holding the plate against the stop.

In order to centralize the heel relatively to the axis of the cutter, the illustrated machine is provided with gage fingers which are so arranged that if they should remain in engagement with the heel as the heel is presented to the cutter they would interfere with the operation of the cutter. Accordingly, there is provided, in accordance with a further feature of the invention, means operable by movement of the work support toward the cutter, to move the work gages away from the supported heel. As illustrated, the means for disengaging the work gages from the supported heel comprises a link connecting one of said gage members to a fixed part of the machine, said gage members being interconnected for equal and. opposite movement whereby the disengagement of one of said gage members from the supported heel effects a like movement of the opposite gage member.

In order to protect the fingers of the operator as he positions an unattached heel upon the heel plate of the work support there is provided, in accordance with a further feature of the invention, a cutter and a worksupport normally remote from each other, a cutter guard, means for normally retaining said guard in a position remote from the work support, and means for automatically positioning the guard between the cutter and the work support as said parts are restored to their normal remote positions after a cutting operation has been performed. As illustrated, the cutter guard is arcuate in cross section, arranged in concentric relation to the cutter and pivoted coaxially therewith.

These and other features of the invention will appear more fully from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a right hand side elevational View of the head of the illustrated machine, a portion thereof being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the head of the illustrated machine;

Fig; 3 is a sectional elevation taken substantially on the line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a heel which has been operated upon by the illustrated machine;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken along the line VIVI of Fig. 4.

Referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 6 there is illustrated a form of concavity which may be cut in the breast surface of a heel I by the illustrated machine. The heel l is shown as composed of a top lift 3 and a plurality of lifts 5. The lifts may be formed of leather or pulp or other board. The heel I is shown as being in the loose or unattached state and its rear and side surfaces have not at this stage been trimmed or scoured though conveniently its breast surface 6 has been trimmed or trimmed and scoured before the operation of the illustrated machine. The concavity in the breast surface is illustrated generally at 1. It will be seen that this is deepest in the locality of ,}the top lift 3 and upwardly from thence gets shallower and narrower until its highest point 9 is reached. The distance of the point 9 above the tread face of the top lift 3 is, in the heel shown in the drawings about 1 inch while the radius of the concavity i in the locality of the top lift is approximately inch. At the top lift the concavity 1 extends to within a distance of about inch of the breast edge at each side of the heel.

The illustrated machine now to be described in detail comprises a column ii having a head It secured thereon by bolts l5. In the head i3 is journalled a horizontal shaft l? which extends directly forwardly and rearwardly of the machine. The shaft I1 is rotatable in two bearings only one of which is seen in Fig. 1,

the other being located at the rear end portion of the shaft which is broken away in this figure. Between the two bearings the shaft has fixed thereto a pulley 19 about which passes a belt (not shown) by means of which the shaft I? may be driven at a speed of about 5,000 revolutions per minute from a driven countershaft (not shown) journalled in bearings near the base of the column i l. The left hand portion of the shaft ll passes freely through a sleeve member on which there is formed a flange 2i through which extend bolts 23 whereby the sleeve is secured to the machine head !3. On a portion of the shaft which -is of reduced diameter there is mounted for rotation with said'shaft a rotary concaving tool or cutter 25. The cutter 25 has a cutting surface which is generally frusto-conical in form. The cutter is, as shown in the drawings, attached to the shaft ll with its end of larger diameter toward the rear. The cutter comprises a series of milling teeth 27, there being preferably ten such teeth around its periphery and these teeth are each broken into four separate portions endwise of the cutter by a helical groove 28 which extends from end to end of the cutter and makes three convolutions around it. A screw 29 threaded into the end of the shaft ll serves to maintain the cutter in pro-per position fixed to the shaft.

Projecting forwardly of the machine and located below the level of the shaft l? is a fixed horizontal shaft 35. This shaft 3! has a flange 33 formed thereon near its rear end and screws 35 through this flange 33 secure the shaft to a fixed bracket 3? mounted on the column of the machine. On the shaft 3i is journalled an eccentric sleeve 39 and upon the external surface of this sleeve is mounted a work support il which carries heel clamping mechanism hereinafter described and is provided with a downwardly inclined portion which provides a handle 32 for swinging the work support counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 2 in order to present a clamped heel to the cutter 25. The provision of the eccentric sleeve 39 allows the heightwise position of the work support A i to be adjusted. The sleeve 38 is normally locked to the hub M of the work support 4! by means of a set screw d3. By unclamping this set screw the sleeve may be rotated with respect to the work support by a suitable i21lplement inserted into one of a series of holes d5 formed in a head i'i at the front end of the sleeve 39. When the sleeve is locked to the hub ii the work support is arranged to swing about the axis of the shaft 3!. The handle 42 of the work support, as seen in Fig. 2, extends downwardly and to the right and has formed thereon a hand grip 49 hereinafter referred to. The work support 5! has formed thereon two forwardly projecting lugs 5!, one below the level of the shaft H and the other above this level when the work support is in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The lugs each has mounted therein a hinge pin 53 secured in position by a set screw The hinge pins 53 are coaxial and pass into recesses in a heel tread engaging plate 5? in order to provide a pivot about which the tread plate may be ad justed to determine the angle to be defined be tween the tread face of the heel and the line of the concavity to be formed in its breast face. To this end the arrangement is such the axis about which the plate 51 is pivoted is at right angles to the axis of the shaft i! is located at the side of the plate nearest to this shaft. Thus it will be seen that the tread plate is arranged for angular adjustment relatively to the axis of the cutter 25. The plate 51 is normally held in fixed position against an adjustable heel plate stop or screw 59 by a spring 6! connected between the plate and the work support ii. By turning the screw 59 the angular position of the plate about its pivot may be adjusted to provide the desired angle between the plate and the axis of the cutter 25.

In order to clamp the heel against the plate 57 a clamping member 63 is provided for engaging the attaching face of the heel. This member has a serrated heel engaging surface to insure proper gripping of the heel, and also vnth this end in view the heel tread engaging surface of the plate is treated, for example by knurling as seen at 55. The member 63 has a ball and socket connection with the rear end of an adjusting screw it? which is in threaded engagement with the upper end of a curved lever I39, a locking screw i! also threaded in the lever 69 being provided to retain the screw 67 in adjusted position. The lever 59 is pivoted upon a cross pin 13 carried on a forwardly extending portion of the lower lug M of the work support iI. Beyond its pivot the l ver 69 extends rearwardly, and passing through a bore in its rearward end is the upper end of a link l5, the lower end of which passes through a bore in a bent lever TI which is pivoted upon a pin l9 carried by the handle 42 for swinging movement in a vertical plane toward and from the handle. The link I5 has nuts 8| at each end thereof so that it serves to tie the levers 69 and ll together. The lever I1 is formed at its lower portion as a hand grip 83 so arranged relatively to the hand grip 59 that the operator may conveniently grip the two with one hand and actuate the lever H by closing his hand upon said hand. grips. A tension spring 85 connected between the work support i! and the lower end of the lever 69 normally serves to maintain the clamping member I53 in open position by tending to turn the lever 69 in counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 1. Movement of the lever in this direction is limited by the engagement of a stop screw 57 (Fig. 2) threaded to the lever ll with the hub i l of the work support 4|. The actuation of the lever I! by gripping the hand grips Q9 and 83 moves the clamping member 63 towards the heel tread engaging plate 5? in order firmly to hold in position a heel inserted between the clamping member and plate. It will be seen that the illustrated work supporting and clamping mechanism is such that the work may be clamped by closing the hand on the hand grips 49 and 83 and released by relaxing the grip of the hand on said hand grips.

In order to insure correct positioning of a heel upon the plate ill two heel positioning members 9! are pivotally mounted upon the front surface of the plate 5'! about small bolts 69. Each member 95 as seen in Fig. 2 extends to the left from its pivot and at its left hand end has a heel-gaging stop 93 formed therein and arranged to engage the breast surface of a heel placed upon the plate 5'5 with its tread face against the plate and its breast surface directed towards the cutter 25. The members 9|, at their opposite ends from the stops 93, have formed thereon teeth 95 which teeth interlock with one another so that as one member is moved about its pivot an equal and opposite movement is communicated to the other member. The members 9| are thus enabled to exercise a definite centralizing action on a heel placed upon the plate 57 while the stops 93 serve to orient the breast face of the heel relatively to the cutter 25. A shield plate 91 secured in place by the bolts 59 serves to cover the toothed portions of the members 5 I.

Each member 9| has extending rearwardly therefrom a pin 99 which passes through a slot It! in the plate 5?. At the rear of the plate 51 the pins are connected by a tension spring I93. The heel positioning portions of the members 9| are thus normally urged one toward the other by the spring Ie3 and their movement in this direction is limited by an adjustable stop screw I85 which is in threaded relation with a rearwardly extending lug Iil'l on the upper member 9| and is adapted to bear against the plate 51. The operator will place a heel to be operated upon upon the plate 5'! when the work support 4| is in its inoperative position with the plate 5i swung outwardly from the cutter 25. At this stage the screw I05 will be so adjusted that the stops 93 of the members 9i will be separated by a somewhat less distance than the width of the heel across the breast surface adjacent the tread face thereof. The operator will place the tread face of the heel upon the plate 51 with the breast face directed towards the cutter 25 and will slide the heel upon the plate 51, spreading the members 9| and bringing the breast surface of the heel into contact with the stops 93. The heel is now properly positioned upon the plate 51 and the hand grips 49, 83 are now grasped to bring the member 63 into position to clamp the heel. It would, however, be undesirable to present the heel to the cutter with the stops 93 of the members 9| in their heel positioning locations since if this were to be done the stops 93 might interfere with the cutter. In order to avoid this, mechanism is provided for withdrawing the members 9I from heel positioning location as the work support 4| is swung towards the cutter. With this end in view the lower member 9% has a lug I59 projecting downwardly therefrom to which is pivoted one end of a link III, the other end of which link has a slot H3 formed therein through which slot extends a small bolt II5 fixed in a lug II'I projecting upwardly from a fixed collar I I9 on the fixed shaft 3|. The arrangement is such that when the work support 41 is swung counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 2 to present a heel to the cutter 25, the lost motion afforded by the bolt and slot connection between the link III and the lug Ill is first taken up and then the link III is arrested by the lug II'I, whereupon the lower member 9! turns in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 2, about its pivotal connection with the link and thus causes the stops 93 to separate into the positions seen in Fig. 2 in which there is no chance of their moving into the path of the cutter. When the separation of the stops 93 takes place the heel will of course be retained in its proper location by the clamping member 63. The collar H9 is retained in position on the shaft 3| by a set screw I2I. On loosening this set screw the angular position of the collar with respect to the shaft 3| may be adjusted to vary the lost motion between the link -I I I and the lug H1 in order to cause the separation of the stops 53 of the members 9| to take place at the proper time.

The cutter 25 has provided in association therewith a guard member I23. This guard member has a hub portion I25 (Fig. 3) which is journalled on the external surface of the sleeve 2| hereinbefore referred to, and the guard portion of the member extends forward from the hub portion and, as seen in Fig. 2, is arcuate in cross section and arranged concentrically to the cutter 25, the radius of its curvature being slightly greater than the radius of the cutting path of the cutter. When the Work support 4| is in retracted position the guard member I23 is arranged to protect and guard the fingers of the operator as he places a heel upon the plate 51. By an arrangement now to be described, as the work support GI is swung to present a heel to the cutter the guard member I23 is swung out of the way into the position seen in Fig. 2. With this end in view a flexible steeI tape I21 is secured at its upper end to a pin E29 projecting from a lug I3I on the work support GI and after passing round a portion of the periphery of the hub I of the guard member IE3 is secured at its other end to a pin I33 on the guard member. A tension spring I35 (Fig. 3) connected between a pin I 31 on a collar E39 fixed on the sleeve member 2| by a set screw Ml and a pin M3 on the guard member I23 normally urges the guard member in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 2. When the work support 4! is in retracted position, the steel tape I2 serves to hold the guard member I23 in operative position against the action of the spring I35. When the work support 4! is swung counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 2 into operative position the spring I 35 is permitted to turn the guard member I23 counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 2 to return it to its inoperative position.

The left hand side portion (as seen in Fig. 2) of the cutter 25 has conveniently associated therewith the mouth of a dust collecting duct M5 which is connected to a suitable fan or the like.

The limits between which the work support ll may be swung are determined by two stop screws It? and I49. The stop screw Ml is threaded to 2. lug I5I formed on the bracket El and is adapted to engage a rearwarolly extending lug 553 on the work support 4! to prevent the work support being swung away from the cutter more than a distance reasonably necessary to permit the insertion of a heel to be operated upon. The stop screw I 49 is threaded to a lug 55 at the top portion of the work support M and is arranged to contact with an arm I51 secured by a screw I59 to the casting I3 to limit the extent to which the work support 4| can be swung in the counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 2.

The operation of the machine to form a concavity 1 in the breast surface of a heel i will have become generally clear from the foregoing description but it may be convenient to recapitulate at this stage.

When the machine is at rest the weight of the parts of the work support 4! will be sufficient to insure that the work support takes its retracted position against the stop screw Ml. The screw me which determines the normal position of the heel gaging members 9! having been adjusted as previously described, the operator will take a heel I to be operated upon and po sition it upon the plate 57 with its top lift 3 against. the plate and its breast surface 6 directed towards the cutter 25. The heel will then be moved forwardly thereof between the heel gaging members 9| until it is arrested by the engagement of the heel breast with both of the stops 93 whereupon the heel will be sopositioned on the plate 5"! that the cutter 25 will cut a scallop of the proper depth and location in the breast face of the heel. The operator will then take hold of the hand grips 49 and 83 and by grasping them together will cause the clamping member 53 to engage the attaching face of the heel to hold the heel in position. The adjusting screw iil for the clamping member 63 will previously have been adjusted in accordance with the height of heel to be clamped. Still holding the hand grips 49 and 83 the operator will swing the work support il counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 2 to present the heel to the cutter. As the heel is swung towards the cutter the stops 93 of the heel positioning members 9I are drawn aside as already explained to prevent engagement thereof with the cutter, and the guard member I23 is swung about the sleeve H from the position in which it covers the right hand side of the cutter 25 to the position seen in Fig. 2. As the counterclockwise movement of the work support 4| continues the lower portion of the breast surface 6 of the heel I willbe brought up against the cutter and the cutter will act to remove material therefrom in the formation of the concavity I. The operator will continue the counterclockwise movement of the bracket until the stop screw I 49 bearsagainst the arm I51 at which time the formation of the concavity i will be completed. He will then withdraw the heel from the cutter by turning the work support M in the clockwise direction and after releasing his grasp upon the hand grips 49 and 83 will remove the heel which will have the appearance seen in Fig. 4. It will be realized that by adjusting the stop screw M9 the depth of concavity '1 formed may be controlled. Further by adjusting the tread plate engaging the stop screw 59 the angular disposition of the tread plate 5'! may be varied. Such variation will control the relative angular disposition of the general heightwise axis of the heel I and the axis of the cutter as the heel is presented to the cutter and thus will control the angle between the line of greatest depth (marked 8 in Fig. 6) of the concavity and the general heightwise axis of the heel. In Figs. 1 and 2 a heel I is indicated in chain lines clamped in position between the plate 5'!" and the member 63. These figures show the parts in the position which they occupy at the instant the concavity forming operation is completed but before the retraction of the work support 4|.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for operating on heels, the combination of a cutter, a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, a handle on the work support, a clamp for holding the work on the work support, and a clamp actuating lever so arranged relatively to the handle of the work support that the handle and the lever may be gripped simultaneously in one hand and the work may be clamped by closing the hand on the lever and handle and released by relaxing the grip of the hand on the lever and handle.

2. In a machine for operating on heels, the

combination of a rotary cutter for forming a scallop heightwise of the breast face of a heel, a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, a handle on the work support, a clamping member for holding the work on the work support, means for normally holding said member out of clamping position, and a clamp actuating lever so arranged relatively to the handle of the work support that the handle and the lever may be gripped simultaneously in one hand and the work may be clamped by closing the hand on the lever and handle and released merely by relaxing the grip of the hand on the lever and handle.

3. In a machine for operating on heels, the combination of a cutter, a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively the cutter, a 'clamp for holding the work on the support, a manually operable clamp-actuating lever, and heel gaging means constructed and arranged to engage a heel on the work support at both sides thereof and at both side margins.

lever, and heel gaging members constructed and arranged to engage, respectively, opposite side margins of the breast face of the heel and the adjacent margins of the sides of the heel.

5. In a machine for operating on heels, the combination of a rotary cutter, a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, a heel plate hinged to the work support and arranged for angular adjustment relatively to the axis of the cutter, an adjustable heel-plate stop carried by the work support, means for yieldingly holding the plate against the stop, and means carried by the work support for clamping the heel against said plate.

6. In a machine for operating on heels, the combination of a rotary cutter, a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, a tread plate hinged to the work support and arranged for angular adjustment relatively to the axis of the cutter, a clamping member constructed and arranged to engage the attaching face of a heel and to press the tread face of the heel against said plate, a handle on the work support, a lever pivoted to said handle and so arranged relatively thereto that the handle and lever may be gripped simultaneously in one hand, and connections from said lever to the clamping member whereby closure of the hand on said handle and lever actuates said clamping member to press the heel tread against said tread plate.

'7. In a machine for operating on heels, the combination with a rotary cutter, of a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, gages carried by the work support and arranged to centralize the heel relatively to the axis of the cutter, and means operable by movement of the work support toward the cutter to move said gages away from the supported heel and into a position in which they will not interfere with the operation of the cutter.

8. In a machine for operating on heels, the combination with a rotary cutter, of a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, a pair of gage members carried by the work support and arranged for equal and opposite movements toward a heel positioned on said support in order to centralize the heel relatively to the axis of the cutter, stops provided on said gage members, respectively, for engagement with the breast face of a supported heel in order to position the heel lengthwise thereof upon the support and in order to orient the breast face of the heel relatively to the cutting path of the cutter, and connections between one of said clamping members and the machine frame whereby said clamping members are disengaged from the breast face of the supported heel as the heel approaches the cutter in order to prevent said gage members from interfering with the operation of the cutter.

9. In a machine for operating on heels, the combination with a rotary cutter, of a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, a pair of gage members carried by the work support and interconnected for equal and opposite movement toward a heel positioned on said support in order to centralize the heel relatively to the axis of the cutter, stops provided on said gage members, respectively, for engagement with the breast face of a supported heel in order to position the heel lengthwise thereof upon the support and in order to orient the breast face of the heel relatively to the cutting path of the cutter, and a link connecting one of said gage members to a fixed part of the machine, said link being arranged to withdraw said gage members from the supported heel as the work support approaches the limit of its movement toward the cutter.

10. In a machine for operating on heels, the combination with a rotary cutter, of a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, a pair of gage members carried by the work support and interconnected for equal and opposite movement toward a heel positioned on said support in order to centralize the heel relatively to the axis of the cutter, stops provided on said gage members, respectively, for engagement with the breast face of a supported heel in order to position the heel lengthwise there-of upon the support and in order to orient the breast face of the heel relatively to the cutting path of the cutter, and a link connecting one of said gage members to a fixed part of the machine, said link being arranged to withdraw said gage members from the supported heel as the work support approaches the limit of its movement toward the cutter, said link having a lost motion whereby said gage members remain in engagement with the supported heel during part of the movement of the work support toward the cutter.

11. In a machine for operating upon heels, the combination with a rotary cutter, of a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, a pair of gage members carried by the work support and interconnected for equal and opposite movement and normally drawn toward each other for engagement with a heel positioned on said support in order to' centralize the heel relatively to the axis of the cutter, and a link connecting one of said gage members to a fixed part of the machine, said link being arranged to withdraw said gage members from the supported heel as the work support approaches the limit of its movement toward the cutter.

12. In a machine for operating on heels, the combination of a cutter and a work support normally remote from each other, a cutter guard, means for normally retaining said guard in a position remote from the work support, and means for automatically positioning the guard between the cutter and the work support as said parts are restored to their normal remote position after a cutting operation has been performed.

13. In a machine for operating on heels, the combination of a cutter and a work support normally remote from each other and relatively movable toward and from each other, a cutter guard pivoted coaxially with the cutter, a spring arranged normally to retain said guard in a position remote from the work support, and means for automatically positioning the guard between the cutter and the work support as said parts are restored to their normal remote position after a cutting operation has been performed.

14. In a machine for operating on heels, the

' combination of a cutter, a work support mounted on the machine frame for movement relatively to the cutter, a cutter guard pivoted coaxially with the cutter and normally retained in a po- 1 sition remote from the work support, and connections between the guard and the work support for positioning the guard between the cutter and the work support as the work support moves away from the cutter.

15. In a machine for operating on heels, a 

